Reunited
by missdallywinston
Summary: Aria and Ezra reunite and reconnect after he comes home from the hospital. Set in season five. One shot.


Aria stepped into the familiar apartment with a heavy heart and a heavy sigh. The last time she was in 3B, she was screaming at Ezra, telling him to leave and never speak to her again. The time before that, Aria trashed the whole place, wall to wall. And the time before that, the puzzle pieces that Ezra was somehow involved with something shady fell into place when he made a remark about Spencer finding a dead body in the woods.

Though she had had so many good memories in these walls, those three were the only ones that were sticking. She wasn't thinking about their first time on the bed she was standing feet away from, she didn't think of taking pictures with bags over their heads, and she didn't think about her confession of her love to him. The good memories were still there though, they just weren't as apparent.

It had been five days since A shot Ezra on the roof. Five days of sitting by his side in the hospital. After those days, he had finally gotten an okay from his doctors to go home if he had supervision. Aria had quickly offered to be that supervision, just so Ezra could get home.

While he was in the hospital, they had talked a few times. She hadn't forgiven him, and there was clear tension there, but she did listen to him and realized just how awful things would be if he hadn't made it, if he had died. She didn't ever want to think of losing him and made a decision to stay with him, romantically or otherwise. Ezra Fitz was just such a part of her life, of her, that she couldn't let him go. She just couldn't.

Aria sighed and decided to clean up the place before Ezra arrived. Spencer had been assigned to pick him up from the hospital in New York because she was already heading that way to pick up Toby from his flight from London. Aria couldn't even begin imagine what that trio's conversation would be on the road trip home.

She pulled her hair up into a sloppy ponytail as her eyes swept across the apartment space. She could tell that Ezra had made an attempt to clean up the mess she made, the mess he deserved, but had given up halfway through. Aria couldn't blame him for stopping the clean-up; she had done quite the number on his home.

Aria grabbed the dustpan from under the sink and swept away some left over glass from the bookcase and diploma frame. As she stood up off the ground, her eyes fell onto the reorganized desk and she spotted the picture she had chucked across the room in a new, nicer frame, completely unharmed. Aria imagined Ezra going out and getting a new frame specifically for that one picture and she was simply touched. It might not have seemed like it for a couple of days, but he clearly loved – loves – her.

Continuing her clean up, she swept away broken plates and cups and haphazardly placed a few papers and photographs together before shoving them into a box full of other research. Aria wondered what he would do with all that stuff because it was crystal clear he wouldn't be going back to writing the book. He would probably shred it all or share it with her and her friends so they could figure it out together.

She was done with cleaning and headed into the kitchen to prepare a simple meal of enhanced macaroni and homemade brownies, expecting Ezra to be starving since he had been on a diet of hospital food for the last week. She cooked it before placing it in the fridge to be reheated later.

After about an hour of tidying and cooking, like a good little house wife she never wanted to be, Aria fell onto the couch and waited for Ezra to get home. Her eyes danced over the apartment and she noticed that the TV she ripped off the wall was hanging crooked where it used to be, the poster she had torn was pieced back together with obvious masking tape, and the antique chess set was nowhere to be found.

She would be lying if she said she didn't feel bad about wrecking the place, she did, but he did deserve it. He might not have deserved a bullet to the gut, or her sleeping with a stranger to somehow get back at him, or getting told to leave and never talk to his soul mate again, but he definitely deserved a destroyed apartment.

The longer she laid on the couch, the heavier her eyelids grew. For the last five days, for the last two weeks honestly, she hadn't been sleeping well. Finally, she felt like a small burden had tumbled of her shoulders and she could rest. So she gave in to her drowsiness, falling asleep to the aroma of Ezra's home, the smell she had begrudgingly craved for weeks.

XXXX

"So, let me get this straight; you rushed A when you knew A had a gun in its hand?" Toby asked incredulously, looking back to the backseat of Spencer's SUV.

"Not the smartest decision, I know," Ezra responded awkwardly, due to his surroundings. The last few times he talked to Spencer were cryptic at best and Ezra never interacted with Toby before. Now, he had to sit in the backseat of Spencer's car with them for hours to get back to Rosewood.

Toby let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled, "Caleb, you… does that mean I'm the next to get shot? Now I'm the only boyfriend without a bullet wound,"

"Toby, that's not funny," Spencer scolded gently. "And Ezra _isn't _a boyfriend."

Ezra winced as Spencer shot him a death glare from the rearview mirror. He read her expression clearly: _it's great you saved our lives on the roof, but you still used my best friends and your girlfriend for research._

After Spencer finally put her eyes back on the road, Toby asked rather confused, "But I thought that Aria and him…"

"Are broken up," she finished for him. "They aren't together."

"Yet," Ezra whispered. Spencer furrowed her brows and looked behind her briefly to Ezra. _Yet_? Was he seriously planning on pursuing Aria again? Couldn't he just move on?

They sat in an uncomfortable silence. Ezra spent a good twenty minutes on thinking of what he should say to Aria once he got home. He knew she was at his apartment and Ezra planned on bringing the ball back into his court. Though they had spoken in the hospital about redemption, Ezra had been a little messed up on all the medicine the doctors were giving him, and they needed to a have a serious talk while Ezra was not in any way intoxicated.

Ezra had had enough of his thoughts and the loud silence was getting to him. "So, Toby, how was London?" Toby thankfully started talking and rambling about British food, uncomfortable hospital beds, and the different monetary system.

"But, it was still a cool experience," Toby finished, after a better part of an hour of speaking about his London trip.

Looking out the window, Ezra realized that they were back in Rosewood and he sat up. "Hey, Spencer, can you stop at the pharmacy? I've gotta pick up my prescription."

Spencer nodded and pulled into a parking lot. The three all quickly got out and stretched, clearly tired from being in a car for hours. They walked together inside and split up, grabbing various items. As Spencer and Toby looked over new movie releases, Ezra wandered to the back and picked up his prescribed medicine.

The pharmacist handed him a bag of three orange little bottles and Ezra thanked her before walking away and searching for his ride. As he walked down the aisle, he spotted an assortment of fresh flowers, and quickly looked for the prettiest ones. He would have asked Spencer for help, but not only did he not know where she was, but he doubted Spencer would want to help him win Aria back.

Eventually, he picked a rather large bouquet of white, yellow, and pink roses. There were a few carnations in the mix and Ezra smiled to himself, envisioning Aria's hopefully happy reaction to his gift.

Minutes later, he reunited with Aria's friend and her boyfriend at the counter. Ezra quickly paid for the flowers and ignored Spencer's incredulous gaze. After he paid, he murmured to Spencer, "Aria likes roses."

XXXX

Aria woke up right when she heard the locks clicking in the door. She got up, straightened out her clothes, and beat Ezra to opening the door. Once he saw her face, he instantly smiled and walked into his apartment.

She motioned to the flowers, "That's a nice 'get well soon' gesture? Who gave you those?"

Ezra dropped his bag near his desk while shaking his head and moving back towards Aria. "Oh, no, these aren't for me," he explained, holding them out to her. "They're for you. I got them when we stopped at the pharmacy."

"They're beautiful," Aria grinned, running her hands over the vibrant petals. "You didn't have to get me these."

"I wanted to," he shrugged.

Aria held up her free hand and caressed her face, "You're sweet." Before it could go any farther, Aria flounced away to the kitchen to put her new flowers in water. If Ezra was planning on winning her back, which he obviously was, and this is how he went around it, she could definitely get used to it.

"Hey, I made macaroni if you're hungry. It's in the fridge, just reheat it."

He sighed dramatically and smirked. "God, that sounds great. Better than rice pudding sludge I've been eating."

Aria giggled and nodded, "Yeah, it didn't seem that appetizing."

The rest of the night, they ate the macaroni and brownies, talking every now and then about how cold the hospital was, random movies, and various topics. Finally, the conversations ended and the clock struck eleven pm. Ezra let out a pent up yawn before throwing away his empty paper plate of food. He almost brought up the alternative dishware, but decided against it, knowing why they weren't using the normal plates.

"Go lay down, okay? I'll get your medicine and bring it to."

As she got up from the table, Ezra did as well and walked to the couch. He adjusted on the leather cushions and, even though it definitely beat the stiff hospital bed he had been sleeping on for das, it still wasn't that comfortable.

Aria turned from the counter with a glass of water and handful of pills to see Ezra resting on the couch. "What are you doing on the couch?" Aria questioned, shooting a glance to the bed that she had made while cleaning.

"You said you were spending the night, so I figured you would want the bed."

"Don't be ridiculous," Aria chided sweetly. "You've had to sleep in a hospital for a week. It'll be nice sleeping in your bed."

"Yeah, but you've been sleeping in a plastic chair all week," Ezra pointed out. "You can have the bed."

She was starting to get irritated and just wanted him to go get in his own damn bed. "Ezra, you got shot, _you_ can have the bed."

"Aria…"

"We are not fighting about this!" Aria said, clearly annoyed. She was fine sleeping on the couch and she wanted him in his own bed so he would be comfortable. Tension was still there, but he deserved a real bed after five days. But on one hand, she was a little happy they were fighting about something miniscule opposed to something life changing. It felt like things were getting back to normal.

Ezra flinched at her volume and reluctantly got off the couch. He got up off the couch and stood tall in front of Aria. "Maybe we should talk…"

"You think?" Aria retorted, walking past him and plopping down on the couch.

Ezra followed and sat beside her. "I know that we talked in the hospital, but-"

"But that was while everything was going crazy," Aria interrupted.

Sighing, Ezra reached for Aria's hand and mentally cheered when she didn't pull away from him. "Aria, I love you, I swear I do. I hope you know that."

"I do," Aria smiled. "I might have… forgotten for a while, but I do now."

Ezra smiled and continued, "I don't want to lose you. I know I made a mess of things and really just screwed it all up, and I'm sorry. I'll never forgive myself for hurting you."

"Ezra…" Aria warned.

"Let me finish. After you found out everything, I just kept hearing you on that ski lift and seeing you cry and I hate myself for making you that upset."

"I don't forgive you," Aria said bluntly, "but I do think we can work through this. And, even though I said I didn't, I want to try. I don't want to lose you either."

"Then you won't," Ezra assured. "I won't give up on us, if you won't.

Aria whimpered and moved closer to him. "I never gave up on us. I just… I was afraid of what was going to happen. And then you got shot and when I saw you with the blood on your shirt," she faded off and began to cry softly.

"I'm here," he cooed, pulling her into his arms. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," Aria whispered. After a few minutes of hugging, Aria pulled away and ordered, "Go get in bed."

Ezra frowned, "Ar-"

"I'll just sleep with you," Aria cut him off. She figured, what was the use fighting over couches and beds? It wasn't like they'd never stayed in the same bed before. But, she did realize how she worded it and blushed. "I mean… we can share the bed. Not _sleep_ with each other, just sleep with each other."

"Baby steps," Ezra responded, earning a small smile from Aria. "Is a kiss a baby step?"

"I think a kiss could be permissible," she smirked, leaning into him. The second their lips touched, the sparks that had once been there came back. It was like the last month never happened and their whole relationship was back to its normality.

And both Aria and Ezra were beyond thankful for that.


End file.
